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Why does the Gemara (גמרא) credit Yosef's resistance to Potiphar's wife to seeing his father's image—seemingly undermining a purely moral motive? The Torah (תורה) records two distinct episodes: the first refusal (Bereishis 39:7-9), where Yosef maintains moral high ground, and a second story (39:10-12), after a year of relentless pressure breaks his resolve. Only then, when moral strength has failed and self-destruction looms, does the vision of Yaakov appear. This second story defines true kiddush Hashem (ה׳)—sacrificing everything, including reputation and life, not for personal nobility but to fulfill the Ribbono Shel Olam's master plan.
Rabbi Zweig opens by noting that the story of Yosef and Potiphar's wife—seemingly familiar—contains profound layers most readers miss. The Rambam (רמב"ם) in Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah (Perek 5, Halacha (הלכה) 10) identifies Yosef HaTzaddik's resistance to Potiphar's wife as the paradigm of kiddush Hashem (ה׳): doing something purely for the Ribbono Shel Olam's sake, without any personal gain, fear of punishment, or pursuit of honor. Yet the Gemara (גמרא) in Sotah explicitly states that what stopped Yosef was seeing the vision (musaf d'yukno) of his father, who warned him that his name would be erased from the stones of the eifod (the Kohen Gadol's breastplate) if he sinned. This appears to directly contradict the Rambam's premise—Yosef was motivated by the consequence of losing his place among the tribes, seemingly a very external, self-interested motivation. Rabbi Zweig argues that there are actually two distinct episodes in the narrative, not one. The first episode (Bereishis 39:7-9) occurs when Potiphar's wife first propositions Yosef. He refuses emphatically (notice the shalsheles on "vayima'en"—he refused), giving approximately 35 words of moral reasoning: he cannot betray his master's trust, everything has been given into his hands, she alone is withheld because she is his master's wife, and "how can I do this great evil and sin before God?" This is a clear, principled refusal based on morality and halacha. At this stage, the woman's intentions were l'shem shamayim—she had seen astrologically that she would bear children from Yosef, and Rashi (רש"י) indicates she genuinely sought this for a holy purpose.
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Bereishis 39:7-12, Bereishis 49:24
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